Well, upgrading my EPP has helped me survive new, insanely alien planets this week. I guess I got a lot to cover...
First, I finished roaming that other system. I put down a portal on that Ocean planet so we could visit here and there, then I took the ship to a more dangerous system...the AI insisted I do so if I want to acquire something to improve the Fusion Swords. And who am I to disagree? The star system is totally irradiated, but doesn't seem to stop the denizens at all. I checked out a Jungle planet first, and I can say thankfully we now have coffee plants. Tifa and I both had a bad case of the jitters from going so long without it, but I missed that particular morning ritual. She made a coffee cake with some of the leftover coffee from the first morning.
I found a weird fruit on this new planet, and...it tasted like sweet cherries. I took the seeds, and later on when I brought some of the fruits home it tasted different to everyone. Marlene said it tasted like spinach, her least favorite vegetable, Denzel said it tasted like cola, and Tifa tasted something like chocolate. I tried a piece again and it tasted like mushrooms. I checked with the neighbors and Chachuoc said it was an Avesmingo, "the fruit of a hundred flavors". I offered some of the seeds and he happily took them to his plot to grow. What an odd fruit...
Speaking of seeds, Nanaki and Yuffie wandered around our home planet and brought back sugar cane and cocoa seeds from some far off area we hadn't traveled to yet. Marlene yanked them from my hand almost immediately for growing in her garden...Well, soon we won't have to run to the outpost for those two things. Our farm has everything we need, and soon everything we'd want.
I added another home out of dark bricks and fancy wood I picked up here and there from the ruins littering the planet. A Glitch showed up, its name is Mereth. It seems kind of sarcastic, and I can only really tell because it says "sarcastic" before saying something in a monotone robot voice. Understandably, it went over the Florans' heads, and I hope Mereth enjoys 'his' bongo patting neighbors. Oh, I'm not spiteful...
I found something called "Durasteel" on this new planet, and after smelting a bunch into bars I asked about the outpost for a way to plate it over my swords. Pete said he could do it but it would take a couple of days, so I've been away from my usual exploration and hanging out with the kids and Tifa, if she's not looking around another planet herself. See, we usually go different directions if we visit a planet together. We're both good fighters, and we want to cover as much area as we can on each planet. They're getting a bit dangerous, so maybe we should stick together more...Maybe I'm just worried. I know our ship can regenerate our bodies, but...the thought of her dying out there from poison or lava, or a large monster or a big fall...I'm a hypocrite, I know. But it makes me cringe. Just the thought brings back memories I didn't ask to be dredged up.
Anyway, on to better subjects. Bought another Mooshi and a few more chickens for the barn, and I repaired the fence around our house. Actually I leveled another patch of land and put new fencing around it, too. We've been finding more seeds, and we need more space to grow them. I took Denzel out with me to hunt with a new spear I found on that jungle planet, he fell in love with it. The spear somehow makes fire shoot out of the blade. Is there a materia lodged inside, maybe? I can't feel anything, so maybe it's just advanced tech. I told him to be careful with it, the last thing I need is for him to become a pyromaniac. We took Pyre with us and spent a good part of the day hunting creatures for meat, a portion of which is for Pyre's food bowl. He's a pretty good pet, affectionate towards Denzel; I guess he treats the little guy well.
Yuffie's been exploring that ocean planet with Nanaki, the two making EPPs for any underwater adventures they planned to go on. I still don't know how the hell she adjusted his to sit on his back like that, but Nanaki still needs help taking it off and putting it on. Every time I watch those two bickering over something stupid I can't help but smile...Some things never change, do they?I guess that's how they'll always get along.
Tonight, as the kids hunted lightning bugs, Marlene asked Tifa and I if we'll ever find Barret. Tifa nodded, but what if we don't? He could have landed on one of the harshest planets you could find, and then we'd never find a trace of him. Maybe I should ask around the outpost for someone fitting his description, I should have done that weeks ago. But I'm sure he would have been asking for us, too, right? We've both stand out in a crowd easily. Marlene...she's trying to keep her mind off of it, I can tell. I miss him too, Marlene, and if I can find him I'll bring him back to us, I promise.